Fake Plastic News

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Coup Coming in Saudi Arabia?

This Thursday appears to be a red letter day for dissidents and militants within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, based on a series of postings found on Arabic language message boards.

Thursday, December 16, groups opposed to the Saudi royal family have scheduled a country wide demonstration, and are trying to organize a general strike with Saudi Arabia for the same day.

There is a good deal of misinformation floating around as a result of erroneous machine translations, which imply that a major terrorist attack is being planned for this Thursday. But based on a careful reading of the original Arabic texts, it appears that the plans being discussed on the message boards deal with protest marches, and not a terror strike.

This is not to say that we discount the possibility of a terror attack being piggy-backed upon the event; but the plans on the internet do not detail such an attack. The US State Department has issued statements in the wake of the attack on the US Consulate in Jeddah indicating that they believe further terror attacks may well be in operational stages.

One statement of concern in the planning document that was found on the internet does entertain the possibility of the demonstration turning violent:

The length of the strike may increase, and it may turn into armed combat against those in authority. It is important that you do not retreat.

At another point in the document, it discusses who those individuals who might be martyred in the course of Thursdays demonstration should be remembered.

As the martyrs of this uprising carry the shehada of blood with their sacrifice, so do you, the citizen. You are responsible for spreading the word, in the media and elsewhere, because the martyrs blood will be wasted if we do not spread the news.

The nation-wide protests are being planned in exquisite detail on the web; a 28 page document was published yesterday providing high levels of detail as to how people should prepare for the demonstration and their behavior during the event.

In some ways, the planning reaches the level that one would see in corporate image standards. For example, the organizers have laid down strict guidelines on signs, banners, and slogans. It specifies what can be contained in the slogans, and advises people to email their suggestions to an ad hoc committee which has been established to approve such slogans.

Protesters are being urged to write the text in large clear print and to hand them well up in the air at government facilities, educational institutions, apartment buildings, in retail districts, and along roads.

Detailed instructions are provided for followers to use in maximizing media attention as well.

Could it be an organized strike, coupled with a terror attack to show how serious they are? I think the Saudi Royals are despicable, but who could replace them is much worse. These won't be ordinary Muslims, but extreme Wahabbi's taught to hate America and the West. A coup in Saudi Arabia will most certainly cause the U.S. to intervene, at the least, to protect the oil fields. Some may think U.S. intervention will be the best option, not only do we get rid of the Saudi Royals, but we can then attack the Saudi extremists, and from there, find a moderate Saudi to rule. Stay tuned...